Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool look to recapture past glories in the Uefa Champions League

Jurgen Klopp and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a tough time on Saturday at Manchester City, but they will be confident of their chances of fighting back in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday. Phil Noble / Reuters

It was another era. Liverpool were down to 10 men. They needed two goals. They turned to their usual rescuer.

Steven Gerrard duly fired a free kick into the top corner. Even he, however, could not conjure another goal or another act of escapology. And so it proved his final Uefa Champions League game: Liverpool 1 Basel 1.

It was December 2014 and Liverpool, five-times champions of Europe, made an ignominious exit from the competition that brought their greatest nights.

Thirty-three months later and after negotiating a play-off with Hoffenheim, Liverpool can savour a return to the Champions League itself.

It was an eye-catching form of overachievement and while three Liverpool managers have won the European Cup, none has ever arrived at Anfield after piloting a club to the final.

So far, so good. The omens are auspicious for Liverpool. Or some of them are, anyway. Klopp’s maiden Champions League campaign was a failure.

Dortmund won a solitary game and propped up their pool in 2011-12. Liverpool must hope that part of history does not repeat itself.

Nevertheless, they can console themselves with the knowledge that they have a manager who has reached two European finals in the last five years, which is more than either Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola has done.